Car-seat



(No Model.) H. S. HALE.

GAR SEAT.

No. 359,354. 4 atented'ar. 15 1887.

UNITED STATES` PATENT OFFICE'.

HENRY s. HALE, on PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-SEAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 359,354. dated March l 1887.

` Application filed August 26, ISES. Serial No. 211,898. (No model.)

set out in my application filed April 14, 1886,

and serially numbered 198,800-viz., to form a car-seat in which the seat proper shall be capable of tipping and shall be moved automatically toward the front and tipped or tilted by the act of reversingthe back.

My object is, also, to so construct the seat that it shall be capable of being turned in so short a distance that I am enabled to use eX- tremely high seat-backs, or those provided with head-rests, and yet turn them in the limited space allowed upon the railway-cars.

My object is, also, to hinge the back to its arms, so that when in its eXtreme positions it is locked from oscillating upon said arms and shall be incapable of oscillating until raised to a vertical or substantially vertical position over the seat, whereby the seat may be readily raised, the back and arms being practically rigid with respect to each other until the vertical position is assumed. In such lposition the locks unlatch and the back may be oscillated by hand so as to bring the advancing or forward edge dow'n before completely turning the back into position, thereby causing it, when a very high back is used, to clear the next adjacent seat-back. In the device illustrated in the patent to Cobb, (partly owned by me,) dated May 26,1885, the seat-back is locked to its arms until fully thrown over, as

the gravity-pressure of the back operates the locks, and therefore a head-rest could not be used. In my present device the back is lockedI to the arms by intermittently-acting pawls orlocking devices which unlock the back when the arms stand in a vertical position over the seat.'

My object is, also, to pivot the said seatback arms close to the seat and connect them by means of a rack-and-pinion device with the seat-carrying frame, whereby the movement of the seat-back will shift the seat in the proper direction with a uniform movementand at the same time hold the seat-frame down and lock it from displacement. The seat-frame runs upon cam-faces, substantially in the manner set out in my former application herein referred to, for the purpose of tipping or tilting the seat in the act of shifting it.

The idea of pivoting the back-supporting Aarms close to the seat and shifting the seat thereby, broadly, is not new, as somewhat the same principles are embodied in Patent No. 281,129; but my improved device, by which this result is accomplished in so perfect a manner, andvwhereby additional advantages are attained, is new, as far as I am aware, and renders what was heretofore an unsatisfactory and, I may say, impracticable device, now operative with the highest degree of utility and comfort.

In the drawings, Figure l is a sectional elevation on line x x of a car-seat embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of part of same on liney y. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the hinged connection between the back and its arm,- with the covering-plate removed toshow the interior. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the'upper end of the seatback arms, and Fig. 5 is a section on line z z of Fig. 1.

Ais the main frame,and B is the arm thereof.

C is a casting secured to the frame A, and is provided with sockets D for the reception of the ends of the longitudinal frames E, of wood. These plates C (one being upon each end of the seat) are provided with oblique camfaces d, the incline pointing in opposite directions for the purpose of guiding the seat-carrying frame.

The seat-carrying frame consists of two end metal plates, F, connected by wooden ties G, upon which ties the seat proper, H, rests. The end plates, F, are provided on their lower parts with the projections f, which work upon the cam-face d, and at such a distance apart that when one projection is at the upper or forward edge of one cam-surface the other proj ection is at the lowest part of the other cam- IOO surface, the object being to cause a tilting movement of the seat in the act of shifting it forward or backward for the purpose of raising the forward edge thereof. This construction is very similar to that set out in my other application, hereinbefore referred to. The upper portions of the plates F are provided with end guides, F', to retain the seat H in proper adjustment, to prevent binding against the frame C. rI`l1ese plates F are also provided with a rack, I, with -the teeth of which a pinion-segment, M, works. The segment M is formed upon the radial arms L of the seatback, which arms are pivoted at l to the plate C and work through the opening or notch n between the flanges N, which iianges project from the plate C and close the open space that would otherwise be formed between thc seat H and plate C or frame A, thereby preventing anything falling from entering the working parts, and also preventing injury by inclosing the gearing. The ends of the slot or notch act, in a measure, as stops for the arm L, but the main strain is received by the striker-blocks S, secured to the arms B. 'By this const-ruction it is seen that upon shifting the arm L the seat H will be shifted also, advancing` toward what will be the front of the seat, and at the same time (through the agency of the cams) the forward edge will be raised and the rear edge lowered. The pinions M positively and uniformly move the seat at both ends simultaneously, and will also act as locks to hold it down into position; and these pinions are located equidistant between the cam-faces d, so that the rack I, while it oscillates, always moves uniformly over the pitclrcircle of the pinion M. Iivoting the arm L to the plate() admits of the upper portion of the seat-arm B being left clear and unobstructed, greatly irnproving the appearance of the seat as an entirety.

J is the seat-bacl{, which may be of any ordinary construction, but preferably with the head-restj, and is pivoted by the hinge-con nection K to the arms L. rIhe construction of this hinge is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The hinge-plate O is secured in the usual manner upon the end ofthe seat-bacl,aiid is hinged at k by a fixed fulcrum to the arm L.

The plate K is provided with a rest, Ii, and two lugs, r, located therein. The arm L is provided with a projection, I), which is furnished with two oppositely-facing stops, p, and the projecting stop p', which works between the lugs or stops r, limiting the movements of theseat-back upon the arms L. Hinged within the rest R at q, and facing in opposite directions, are the two gravity-pawls Q, adapted to catch upon the faccsp, but not both at the same time. These pawls are counterweigh ted, as at q', so that when the seat-bacli is thrown into position the upper pawl falls into locking position and prevents the upper edge of the seat-back being thrown forward, while one of the lugs r rests against the projection p and prevents the seat-back being thrown backward. From this it is seen that when the seatback is thrown from one side to the other it is automatically lockcd, and yet at all times has a posit-ive pivot-connection to the arm L, obviating any jarring or excessive wear. Vhen the arm and scat-back are raised to a position vertical over the seat, the tendency of both pawls Q will be to fall away from the faces p; hence when the back is raised to this position it is unlatched, and may be tipped upon its arm L to the proper position before beinglowered into place. It will also be observed that in shifting the seat-back it cannot be oscillated upon its supporting-arms L until after it has been raised to asubstantially vertical position over the carseat; hence the shifting is accomplished in the most easy and graceful manner. This will be appreciated when we consider that in the Cobb device,or that shown in Patent No. 281,129, hcreinbefore referred to, if the lower edge of the back next to the aisle be caught, the seat-back will be unlatched from one arm, but not from the other; hence the most injurious torsional strain will result upon the connections and the transfer will be made in au awkward and unsatisfactory manner, and yet the Cobb locking device has been by far the best heretofore placed on the market. INith my improved device such a premature unlatching is absolutely impossible, and the most careless and ignorant handling of the scat-back cannot result in undue wear or excessive strains, and all movements ofthe working parts are so gradual and uniform that the operation of the device causes no perceptible noise.

Vhile I prefer the construction shown, the details thereof may be modified without departing from my invention. For instance, it will be readily understood that a delicate spring might be placed back of the pawls, so as to induce their action to lock the back withoutrelying upon gravity, and yet which springs would beinsufficient to prevent the pawls falling ont of locking position in the transfer of the seat-back; or the pawls might be pivoted to the arm L instead of the casting O of the back. rIhe employment of such a spring to act upon the pawls is indicated in Fig. 3.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Ina seat, the combination of the main frame having cam faces or guides, a seat-supporting frame having racks and working upon said canrfaces to admit of reciprocation and to tilt the seat, the seat-back, and connectingarms for hinging the seat-back to the frame, provided with gear-segments meshing with the rack on theseat-supportin g frame, whereby the said gear-segment shifts the seat with a uniform movement and locks the frame against vertical displacement, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a seat, the combination of the main frame having cam faces or guides and exposed side arms, a seat-supporting frame having racks and working upon said cani-faces to ad- IIO mitof reciprocation and to tilt the seat, the .seat-back, and connecting-arms pivoted to the main frame on a line with the seat for hinging the seatback to the frame, and provided with gearsegments meshing with the rack on the seat-supporting frame, whereby the said gearsegment shifts the seat with a uniform movement and locks the frame against vertical displacement, and a hinged locking-connection displacement, a pivoted connection betweenv said connecting-arms and back, and a gravit-y locking device independent of the pivoted connection of said arms with the back to look the seat-back thereto when in proper posit-ions, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. In a seat, the combination of the main frame having cam faces or guides, a seat-supporting frame having racks and working upon said cam-faces to admit'of reciprocation and to tilt the seat, the seat-back, connecting-arms for hinging the seat-back to the frame, provided with gear-segments meshing with the rack on the scat-supporting frame, whereby the said gear-segment shifts Vthe seat with a uniform movement and locks the frame against vertical displacement, a pivoted connect-ion between said connecting -arms and back, a gravity locking device independent of the pivoted connection of said arms with the back to lock the seat-back thereto when in proper positions, and adapted to unlock only when the connecting-arms have been raised to asubstantially vertical position,and when the seat-back is over the seat, whereby extremely high'baoks may be used, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In a seat, the combination of the main.

frame, the seat-back, connecting-arms hinged at one end to the main frame and at the other to the seat-back by apositive fixed hinge-joint-, and a lock independent of the hinge to lock said back to said arms in its two extreme tilted positions thereon, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. In a seat, the combination of the main frame, the seat-back, connecting-arms hinged at one end to the main frame close to the seat and at the other to the seat-back by a positive iixed hinge-joint, and a lock independent of the hinge to lock said back to said arms in its .two extreme tilted posi-tions thereon,and stops 7. In a seat, the combination ofthe main frame, the seat-back, connecting-arms hinged at one end to the main frame and at the other to the seat-back, and independent gravity locking pawls or plates adapted to lock and unlock the back with the arms automatically upon reversing the' seat-back, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

8. In a seat,- the combination of the main frame, the seat-back, connecting-arms hinged at one end to the main frame and at the other to the back, and a lock to lock the arms and back rigidly together during their upward movement in transferring the back, and automatically unlock these parts when substantially above the seat, substantially as and for the purpose specified..

9. In a seat, the combination of the main frame, the seat-back, connecting-arms hinged at one end to the main frame and at the other to the back, and a lock to lock the arms and back rigidly together during their upward movement in transferring the back, and automatically unlock these parts when substantially above the seat, and remain unlocked until the back is tipped and lowered, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

10. The combination of the main frame A, plates C, secured thereto and having the camfaces d, seat-carrying frame F, working upon said cani-faces and having rack I, seat-back J, and arms L, pivoted atl to the main frame near the seat, hinged at their upper ends to the seat-back, and provided on their lower ends with gear-segments M, adapted to mesh with rack I, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

ll. The combination of the main frame A, plates C, secured thereto and having camfaces d, seat-.carrying frame F, working upon said cam-faces and having-rack I, seat-back J, arms L, pivoted at Z to the main frame near the seat, hinged at their upper ends to the seat-back, and provided on their lower ends with gear-segments M, adapted to mesh with IOO IIO

rack I, seat H, and flanges N, extending from the plate C or main frame to close the space between the seat and frame, and between which flanges the arms L work, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

l2. The combination of the main frame A, plates C, secured thereto' and having the camfaces d, seat-carrying frame F, working upon said cam-faces, provided with end guides, F', having rack I, seat-back J, removable seat H, and arms L, pivoted at Z to the main frame near the seat, hinged at their upper en ds to the seatback, and provided on their lower ends with gear-segments M, adapted to mesh with rack I, substantially as and for the purpose specified. 4

13. The combination of the main frame A, plates C, secured thereto and having the camfaees d, seat-carrying frame F, working upon said cam-faces, provided with end guides, F, and having rack I, seat-back J removable seat H, arms L, pivoted at Zto the main frame near the seat, hinged at their upper ends to the seat-back, and provided on their lower ends with gear-segments M, adapted to mesh with rack I, and iiange N, extending from the plate C or main frame to close the space between the seatand main frame, and between which flanges the arms L work, substantially as and for the purpose speeied.

14:. The combination ofthe seat-back and its hinge-plate O, having` the stops r r, with the arm L, for hinging the said back to the seatframc, having its upper end hinged to the plate O of thc back and provided with a stop,

15 p', working between the stops o, to limit the throw ofthe seat-back upon its arm, and further provided with stops pp, facing in oppo site directions, and two pawls, Q, carried between the plate O and arm L, to engage with the stops p and securely lock the arm and back together, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

15. The combination of the seat-back and its hinge-plate O, having the stops r r, with the arm L, for hinging the said back to the seatframe, having its upper end hinged tothe plate O of the back and provided with a stop, p', working between the stops 1', to limit the throw of the seat-back upon its arm, and further provided with stops p p, facing in opposite directions, and two weighted or gravity pawls, Q, carried by the plate O, and arranged between the plate O and arm L, and adapted to engage with the stops p and securely lock the arm and back together, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

16. In a seat, the con'ibination of the main frame, the shifting seat and reversible back, pivoted connectingarms to support the back and shift the seat, a pivot-connection between the said arms and back, and a gravity locking device independent of said pivot to lock the seat-back to its arms when in proper position, substantial] y as and for the purpose specified.

17. In a seat, the combination of the main frame, the shifting seat and reversible back, pivoted connecting-arms to support the back andshift the seat, apivoted connection between the said arms and back, and a gravity locking device independent of said pivot to lock the seat-back to its arms when in proper position, and adapted to unlock only when the connecting-arms have been raised to a substantially vertical position, and when the seat-back is over the seat, whereby extremely high seatbacks may be used, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony ol which invention I hereunto set my hand.

HENRY S. HALE.

XVitnesses:

J. XVARREN HALE, CHENEY KILBURN. 

